


before the world was big

by nirvanabrook



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Niki and Tubbo are Siblings, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, The Three Siblings are Neurodivergent, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade are Twins, only mentioned nothings detailed at all im not a freak, this shit is sad and angsty im so sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28666869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nirvanabrook/pseuds/nirvanabrook
Summary: Tommy was practically an outcast, or at least he felt so. There were two twins who had been together since birth and had been living with Phil for more than half a decade. There was no way he would fit in, right?Phil just hoped that this family wouldn't fall apart.listen to the playlist:]
Relationships: Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo, No Romantic Relationship(s), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 21
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i've been planning thiis fic and i am so excited to finally have written the first chapter it took Forever. hopefully i keep up with it. SBI family dynamic is what keeps me sane, specifically the fics. i hope this fic can bring some comfort but in an angsty way i am incapable of writing otherwise.
> 
> warnings: discusses trauma and mental health issues such as ptsd, depression, and panic attacks are mentioned throughout. there is also Mentioned child abuse/neglect but nothing graphic or detailed
> 
> first chapter has a small panic attack and also discussion of panic attacks.

It was almost 6:00 on a Thursday afternoon and the rain pattered against the windows noisily. The air was especially thick with tension today. Phil wasn’t sure what had happened, but the three teenagers refused to look at each other. They all stared down at their plates and played with their food. Tommy and Techno looked angry, while Wilbur looked… Well, Phil really couldn’t place the emotion on Wilbur’s face.

Phil knew better than to ask what’s wrong. The last time he did that when the boys were fighting, it broke out into a bigger argument. All he wanted was for them to get along, but even after almost seven months since Tommy joined their family, there was constant tension. There was constant fighting. He tried talking it out once, but it didn’t help.

“So, how was school today?” asked Phil. He tried to break the tension as best he could, even with the blandest of small talk.

None of them said anything for about two minutes. Wilbur was the first one to speak up. “I had a test in geography today. I think I aced it.” A small smile formed on his face, then he ate a bite of his food to try and suppress it. He didn’t talk about it much, but he loved geography. It interested him a lot, probably more than anything other than music. He dreamed of traveling the world with just him and his guitar.

“I bet you did. That’s great,” Phil said. 

After that, more silence. More tension. Nothing but the sounds of the rain. Drip. Drip. Drip. 

Techno looked up at Tommy and glared. Tommy was scraping the side of his bowl to get one last bite, and it seemed to set Techno off. That, and the annoying, continuous sound of the rain. He couldn’t yell at the rain, though.

“Do you know how to eat quieter?” he growled. Tommy was startled by the raising of Techno’s voice. He wasn’t even doing anything. Phil and Wilbur glanced at each other, knowing what was about to breakout.

“What?” said Tommy. 

“Eat quieter,” Techno replied. “God, even you’re eating is fucking annoying!”

“Techno-” Phil tried to intervene, but it didn’t help.

“Fuck you, Techno,” Tommy snapped. Wilbur’s eyes searched between his two brothers and then went to Phil. Then, to nothing. His lips pressed together, and his shoulders raised and lowered over and over. He was having a good day. He was having a good day. Phil didn’t know whether to comfort him or try to calm down the other two. 

“Both of you, quit!” Phil hated raising his voice, but they kept bickering. It worked to get their attention. “Go to your rooms and calm yourselves. You guys have got to stop fighting like this. It’s ridiculous.” 

“I’m not done eating,” said Techno. 

“Take it with you,” Phil replied. Techno gave a look, but he didn’t protest. He got from his seat, along with Tommy. He looked at Wilbur for the first time all dinner, and his expression went from anger to worry in a split second. 

“Wilbur, are you okay?” he asked. 

Wilbur looked up at him, snapping him out of his trance. “What? Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine.” Techno knew that wasn’t true, but Phil began waving him away and telling him to go upstairs.

He felt bad. He didn’t care if he pissed Tommy off, but if he put his brother into a panic attack, he wasn’t sure he could forgive himself. He went up to his room and closed his door.

Techno heard mumbling coming from downstairs. It was Phil talking to Wilbur. He tried not to focus on it and instead paced his room

Wilbur had learned how to handle panic attacks on his own. He learned the right exercises while also learning how to not make them obvious. Techno had helped him through them sometimes when it was just the two of them. Before Phil, a lot of foster families were hard to handle for various reasons. They had to help each other together. Because of this, Techno knew when Wilbur was upset. He knew he was lying about feeling okay. Phil could only tell every once in a while.

“I’m fine, Phil, really,” said Wilbur. He wasn’t completely lying. “I deal with panic attacks sometimes. I can handle it on my own. I just got overwhelmed, is all. I’m fine.”

“I know, I just…” Phil trailed off. He didn’t know what he was going to say. He was simply being a dad. 

“You’re my dad and you love and care about me. Yeah, yeah,” Wilbur replied. He smiled faintly. Phil noticed the tired look in his son’s eyes.

“It’s true. I do.” He chuckled and then fell silent for a moment. “Hopefully the boys have calmed down by now. I should go talk to them.”

“At the same time?”

Phil snorted. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

That got a sarcastic shrug from Wilbur. “A little.”

“Haha, very funny.” Wilbur grinned tiredly. Phil got up from the couch with a sigh. “Wish me luck. You sure you’re okay?”

Wilbur nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be okay.” He felt weird, a bit like he wasn’t himself, but maybe the feeling would go away in the morning. 

He watched Phil go up the stairs and knock on Tommy’s bedroom door, then he turned his attention back to the T.V. He didn’t pay attention to dumb commercial playing on it, though, and instead focused on the sound of the rain. It was calming to him. He thought about how nice it would be to just sit in the rain with his guitar. He could play it and sing and it’d sound so nice and calming. Yeah, Phil sure would like that. He’d protest with a lecture about getting a cold and blah blah blah.

Tommy heard the light knock on his door and sighed. He forced himself to put down his comic and drag himself to the door. He dreaded the conversation with Phil. He just wanted to let it all go and accept that his foster brother hated him. 

Tommy opened his door with annoyance. “Hey, Tommy,” Phil greeted gently. “You alright?” They both walked towards Tommy’s bed and sat.

Tommy shrugged in response, then he scoffed. “Tell your son to stop being a dickhead.”

“Tommy,” Phil scolded. Tommy sighed and muttered an apology.

“I just… I didn’t do anything, and he just yelled at me at dinner for no fucking reason.” He realized he sounded a bit upset. He wasn’t, though. Why would he be upset? He didn’t give a shit what Techno thought. 

“It seemed there was something before that, though,” stated Phil. “You guys were pissed at each other before that. What happened?”

Tommy was terrible at hiding his guilt. He was like a dog after getting scolded. He looked down at his lap and fidgeted with his hands. 

“Tommy,” Phil said slowly, “what did you do?”

“What? Why do you assume that I’m the one that did something? You know, Techno isn’t all-”

“Tommy.” Phil gave him The Look, and he sighed.

“I jokingly made fun of him, and he got pissed and it turned into an argument for some fucking reason.”

“That’s it?” Phil wondered why one insult turned into a big blow-up between them. “Techno doesn’t usually get mad at something like that.”

“I swear,” Tommy replied. “That’s all I said.”

“You still shouldn’t insult people, though, Tommy,” Phil said, 

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Phil shook his head and stood up.

“I’ll go talk to him.” He opened the door, then looked back at the blonde boy. “Stop fighting all the time, yeah?”

Tommy nodded. Phil smiled and closed the door behind him as he walked out of Tommy’s room. He had a feeling that talking to Techno may be a little harder. He just didn’t understand why these two fought all the time. When Tommy came into the family, he and Techno were at each other’s throats. Phil was almost worried about leaving them alone sometimes. They had gotten better and tolerable towards each other eventually, but then at some point their “relationship” crumbled again. Phil constantly wondered if he had done something wrong.

He gently tapped on Techno’s door. “Techno? Can I come in?” No one responded. He heard shuffling before eventually the door open. There stood a mildly distressed-looking Techno. 

Phil walked in, and, after closing the door, Techno began pacing again. Phil furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’m sorry,” Techno blurted. He stopped pacing and turned to Phil. “Is Wilbur okay?”

“You don’t have to worry about him. He’s fine,” Phil said. “I came to talk to you.”

“Did I give him a panic attack?” 

“He’s fine, Techno.” He put a hand on Techno’s shoulder and made him sit on the bed. 

“Fuck, I did,” muttered Techno. He put his face into his hands. 

“Techno, he’s okay. It’s not your fault. This isn’t about Wilbur, it’s about you and Tommy.” 

Techno ignored him and rambled about how bad he felt. “He used to get them really bad. There was one time where it was so bad he thought he was having a heart attack. He was, like, eleven, but he still thought he was dying. It was fucking scary.”

“I know, but he’s okay. He just got overwhelmed, but he’s okay now. You can even go talk to him after you and Tommy resolve this shit,” Phil assured. “If you don’t calm down, though, you’re going to give yourself a panic attack.” He noticed how tense Techno looked. He was just a big ball of worry. 

Techno nodded and took a deep breath. 

“Now, what’s up with you and Tommy?” asked Phil. 

“He’s insufferable, Phil.”

Phil let out a small laugh. “He’s not that bad. He’s a kid.”

“An insufferable one.”

“You were a lot like him when you first came here, just quieter. You two are pretty similar.” 

That seemed to hit a nerve.

Techno seemed to want to say something, but he shut his mouth. Usually, Phil would encourage him to say his thoughts, that he kept them in too much, but he knew that whatever Techno was thinking wasn’t good to say out loud. At least he had self-control.

“I talked to Tommy,” Phil said. He was changing the subject.

“What did he say? He didn’t do anything? He’s the greatest angel to ever have lived?” Techno replied sarcastically.

“No. He said you got pissed at him after he made fun of you. I told him that it’s not cool he did that, but… you’re not normally one to get upset about something like that, especially from him. What’s wrong?”

Techno didn’t say anything for a little bit. He bowed his head and his leg bounced. “I’ve had a shitty ass day, Phil.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. Nothing, really. Just small things all adding up. Like, I didn’t even really sleep last night. I woke up feeling bad.” He looked back up and sighed. “Then, at dinner, I was already feeling pissed off and stuff, and I just got overwhelmed. The rain, the silence, the chewing, the scraping. I shouldn’t have snapped at Tommy, but Jesus Christ.”

Too many sounds overwhelmed him. Sometimes his emotions got the best of him. It got to the point where he just snaps. He can’t take it. Executive dysfunction was like that. ADHD was a demon that taunted him. 

“I get that,” Phil said. “I’ve had days like that, too. But you guys have got to stop fighting all the time.” Techno nodded. “Whether you like it or not, he’s here to stay. At least for now. It won’t do the two of you any good to constantly bicker. Brothers fight, but not this much.”

“He’s not my brother,” Techno replied with a scoff.

Phil sighed. “Okay, maybe he’s not. However, he still lives here. You should treat him like it.” He paused. “You’re the older one, Techno. You’re supposed to be more mature and handle these situations better. Plus, it would help me out a lot.”

Techno didn’t reply. He messed with the string of his hoodie and stared ahead. He focused on Phil’s words. 

“I’m gonna let you two decide if you want to talk it out or not, and I’m gonna trust that you guys do it without fighting.” I’m gonna regret that, Phil thought. He stood up. The bed creaked slightly. “Wilbur’s still downstairs as far as I know. I’m sorry you’re having a bad day, Techno. If you want to talk about it, you know I’ll listen.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know,” replied Techno. He smiled a little. He’s just like his twin, Phil thought. 

“I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Phil closed the door behind him and sighed. Now that that was resolved, he could clean up dinner. Maybe he could go to bed early. Sleep. That sounded fantastic. 

He strolled downstairs to find Wilbur in the kitchen washing dishes. He had put the leftover food away and cleaned up the remaining dishes from the table. He even wiped off the tables and counters. 

Wilbur was scrubbing a pot when he heard Phil come in. He turned and smiled at him. “Hey. Is everything okay with them?”

“Hopefully,” replied Phil. “You cleaned up for me?”

Wilbur nodded. “Yeah! I thought I’d help you out since you’re dealing with all of this. Plus, it gave me something to do.” 

“Thanks, Wil.” 

“So, is everything okay?” He took a towel and dried off the bowl in his hand.

“Techno was having a bad day, Tommy was annoying him which made it worse,” Phil explained with a sigh. “Same shit.” 

“I should go talk to Techno when I’m done,” Wilbur said. 

“You should. He’s mad at himself because he thinks he’s upset you.”

“What? No, he’s fine. I’m fine.”

“That’s what I told him. He’s just a worried brother, I guess.” 

Wilbur thought of before they lived with Phil. Techno was always super protective, even before their parents died. Like at school, if he caught anyone making fun of Wilbur, he would immediately stand up for him. Wilbur thought it was funny sometimes, though, because Techno would make fun of him in the same way as the person he called out. 

“I’m your brother. It’s different,” he’d say. 

It’s true. It was different. Wilbur knew Techno cared about him. 

When their parents died, Techno repressed all of his grief and feelings for the most part. He always made sure that Wilbur was okay and coping well. He never did deal with his grief himself, though. Looking back, Wilbur wished he had helped Techno the same way, but he sadly didn’t. 

In foster care, the twins practically developed their own way of communicating. They had looks they’d give each other, they had code words for various things, like if one of them felt unsafe around a foster family member or otherwise, etc. It worked. The more homes they went to, the more closed off they, especially Techno, became. Every new house they went to was another wall the boys built for themselves. 

Phil managed to break down Wilbur’s fairly easily after some time. Techno’s he still struggled with. Techno’s were made of deteriorating bricks. When the rain hits, the brick breaks away very slowly. Very gradually. Eventually, the wall will fall whether it’s slowly by nature or whether something comes and breaks it down forcefully. 

Techno didn’t get close or open up at all to Phil until he saw how happy Wilbur was with him, and he really opened up some when he found out they were getting adopted. He had been disappointed too often by other foster parents to open up before then. 

There was one foster family before Phil in the midst of terrible ones that the twins especially liked. She was an older woman, around her 50s or so, and she was incredibly caring. She treated them well and let them know they were welcome. Wilbur was pretty close to her, and even Techno had begun to be. They were sure that they would be adopted. She didn’t seem to do anything that said otherwise. 

One day, their social worker came to pick them up. They were shocked. Their foster mom seemed sad, but she wasn’t surprised. She willingly gave them up. She never told them why.

Wilbur was upset but learned that sometimes it had to be that way. He didn’t want to get too close to a foster parent anymore, though. However, he did still talk about her positively.

Techno held a grudge against her, though. That was why it was hard for him to ever open up to a foster family after that. He assumed all of them were temporary and not worth holding on to until they explicitly proved otherwise. None of them were family. Wilbur was the only person that mattered in his life. 

Until Phil.

Worried brother. “Yeah, he’s like that,” Wilbur said. He put the last dish away. “I’m gonna go talk to him.”

Phil nodded, and Wilbur walked upstairs. He thought of what he would say to Techno as to not upset him more before gently knocking on his door. There was no reply. He didn’t hear anyone moving inside. He glanced under the door and saw no light coming from it. Techno must’ve gone to bed. 

Wilbur turned to go back downstairs before hearing a laugh come from Tommy’s room. It was a bit raspy. It wasn’t Tommy’s laugh at all. Were Techno and Tommy actually… getting along?

He walked towards Tommy’s room and knocked. The quiet chatter in the room stopped abruptly. He heard movement before the door opened and Tommy stood with a smile.

“Hi Wilbur,” the blonde boy says. Wilbur furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He was confused. The two had been at each other’s throats all day, and now they were hanging out and laughing together? “Do you need something?”

“I was going to talk to Techno, but then I realized he was in here,” replied Wilbur. 

“Well, you can come in if you want.” Wilbur nodded and Tommy opened the door wider. Wilbur stepped in and saw Techno sitting cross-legged on Tommy’s bed. He looked comfortable. It was like the entire day just left his mind completely. He was glad, though. He hated the fighting. It was nice to see the two getting along.

“Hey, Wil,” Techno greeted with a small smile. 

“Hey! Are you guys actually getting along for once?”

Techno let out a small laugh. “Yeah, we actually are. We were in here just talking.”

“Yeah. He’s actually tolerable sometimes,” Tommy said. Techno rolled his eyes and then gave Wilbur a look of annoyance, causing the boy to break out into laughter.

Wilbur sat down in the chair by Tommy’s desk while Tommy and Techno sat down on the bed. He smiled as Tommy told Techno something. He wasn’t sure what, but it diidn’t matter. He was simply glad that they were acting like brothers.

“By the way, Wil, are you okay?” Techno asked. He was worried again. 

“Yes, Tec, Im fine. I promise. Why are you so worried?”

Because it was my fault. “Because I’m your brother, and I care about you. Plus, I’ve seen how panic attacks affect you.”

“It was just a small one. I got overwhelmed a little is all.” He looked directly as Techno with a small, reassuring smile. “I’m okay, Techno.”

Techno sighed. “Okay. As long as you’re fine.” Just let it go, Techno thought. Just fucking let it go. It’s over. But he couldn’t help but think, What if he’s actually angry at me but is just being nice as usual? He had to stop overthinking constantly. 

“I deal with panic attacks sometimes, too,” Tommy shared. He said it with a bit of hesitation as if he hadn’t told anyone before. 

“Really?” replied Wilbur sympathetically. Tommy nodded.

“Yeah. i mean, they’re not that bad.” His voice shook slightly. “I mostly get them when I get reminded of certain times in foster care or like… have a really bad nightmare or something. I don’t know.” Techno and Wilbur looked at each other with worried expressions then back at Tommy. They knew exactly what he was going through. They had a word, or multiple words, for it. Tommy didn’t.

“Have you thought about talking to Phil?” Techno asked. “About the panic attacks? About… About the foster care shit?”

“I mean, I’m fine,” Tommy said. He got a little enthusiastic. “It’s nothing. The panic attacks aren’t really anything like I said. They don’t get that bad or happen that much. Plus, I’m too cool to worry about them.”

Wilbur and Techno looked at each other again. They were going to drop it, although they were still concerned. They dealt with this similarly, especially Wilbur. It wasn’t great. They also knew Tommy having panic attacks when he got “reminded of certain times in foster care” wasn’t great either.

Wilbur semi-regularly saw a therapist. It didn’t work for Techno, though. He did keep a journal sometimes instead. Either way, they were helped with their trauma in some way. They knew Phil could help Tommy, too. Foster care was not fucking fun, and Phil knew that.

“Can I show you two the new song I’ve been working on?” Wilbur found a way to change the subject. 

Tommy perked up. “Yes!” Then, he realized what he did and slouched back down and pretended to not care. “I mean, yeah, sure. If you want.”

Techno chuckled quietly as Wilbur went to get his guitar from his room. This guy was ridiculous, Techno thought about Tommy. However, he was starting to understand him more. Maybe Phil was right. Maybe they were kind of similar. Techno would never admit that out loud, though. 

The rest of the night, the three teenagers chilled in Tommy’s room and listened to the melancholy strum of Wilbur’s guitar. Tommy fell asleep to it. He had a small smile on his face. For once in such a chaotic household, there was peace and happiness. Phil almost would’ve worried about what they were up to if he hadn’t fallen asleep early.

Maybe everything would be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter what Phil does, the boys can't seem to get along, even after that one night. It was false hope. There was a constant civil war in the house.
> 
> Please don't let things fall apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyy sorry this took a month and a half lol writer's block is a bitch. BUT ITS HERE WOO even if it is short. i hope yall like it. its angsty. and i am projecting my adhd and autism onto them. oops.

Phil thought that that night would at least ease some of the tension in the house. He thought the three teenagers would fight less. They seemed to get along well by the end of the night, so why wouldn't they begin to get close? He thought maybe they will start to act like brothers now and  _ get along _ . No more constant fighting. 

Oh, how wrong he was. 

It was quite a morning. There was arguing about every little thing. Phil didn't understand how they had so much energy in the mornings to fight as they do. 

At first, it was small things. Wilbur was using one bathroom, so Techno and Tommy fought over the other. They yelled about who got there first. Techno ended up winning by pushing Tommy out. Tommy then decided to argue with Wilbur. He didn't win that time either. 

Tommy decided to eat first, instead. Phil sat at the kitchen table drinking black coffee and scrolling through his phone. He smiled up at Tommy when he entered the room. 

"Good morning," said Phil. 

"Morning." Tommy went straight towards the cabinets that held the cereal. He grabbed his favorite. He also grabbed a bowl, spoon, and milk and sat down at the table. 

He watched as the cereal poured into his bowl. Some landed on the table. While he poured the milk, Techno walked in. Wilbur did, too, almost immediately after. Techno grabbed his own cereal and sat at the table. 

Phil got up and went to the bathroom.  _ Big mistake. _   
  


Wilbur stood over Tommy. He looked annoyed. “You’re in my seat.”

“What?” Tommy responded. His mouth was full of cereal.

“That’s my spot. That’s where I sit.” Wilbur became more and more annoyed and flustered as this went on. He needed to sit there. He couldn’t explain why, not even to himself, but he needed to. It was  _ his _ spot at the table. He had a spot on the couch, too. 

“Just sit there,” said Tommy, and he pointed to the seat next to him. 

“No! That’s my seat, Tommy!” Wilbur was almost yelling Tommy hated when people yelled at him. However, he also hated when people bossed him around and told him what to do, especially with something as small as a seat.

“I don’t see your name on it!” He and Wilbur glared at each other.

“Tommy, just give him the fucking seat!” Techno shouted. He was trying not to get involved, but it was ridiculous.

That was the perfect time for Phil to walk back in. “Hey, what’s going on here?” 

“Tommy won’t give me my seat back,” Wilbur told Phil.

“Why the hell does it matter?” 

“If it doesn’t matter, then why won’t you just give it to me?”

“Both of you quit,” Phil intervened. 

“Tommy, Jesus Christ,” Techno said. 

“Techno,” Phil scolded.

There was a constant civil war in the house. It was always Techno and Wilbur versus Tommy. What was worse was that Phil sometimes had to choose a side, which was hard. He didn’t want any of them to feel bad, but he also needed to deescalate the situation somehow. Sometimes that had to by telling one of them that they’re wrong.

Wilbur was upset. He tried to stop his shaking, but he really couldn’t. He just wanted to sit in the spot he always sat in. It was never a problem. He couldn’t explain why he needed to sit there, he just  _ needed to _ . It was “his spot”.

“Wilbur, do you really need to sit there? Is it that big of a deal to you?” Phil asked. He said it calmly and not in a condescending tone. He really did want to understand. He hadn’t had to deal with this before because it was never a problem. He didn’t realize it was that important to sit in a chair.

“Yes! It’s my seat, Phil.” He sounded genuinely upset.  _ He’s not just being stubborn or acting childish, _ thought Phil. 

“Tommy, please,” he said. Tommy sighed and obeyed. He sat in the seat he usually did. “Now, let’s drop it, yeah?”

They all nodded. Wilbur grabbed the cereal box from in front of Tommy and poured some into his bowl. He spent the rest of the morning not talking. He fidgeted with his hoodie strings and tapped on various surfaces with his fingers the entire morning. He got ready quietly. 

In the car on the way to school, he put in his headphones. He drowned out everything with music heavy in guitar and raspy, shouty vocals. He entered his own personal little world.

Techno did the same. He walked into school, not able to hear anything but the heavy punk music going through his earbuds. One thing he and Wilbur always had was music. It helped calm down both of them when things got too overwhelming. They had a similar taste in music, too, so they shared favorites quite a bit. 

At school, Tommy had an agreement with himself to act like he didn’t know Wilbur and Techno. He didn’t acknowledge them at school, even if it was sometimes tempting to annoy them in front of their friends. It wasn’t very hard, either, since he wasn’t related to them. Wilbur and Techno caught on to it pretty quickly, so they didn’t bother him. They didn’t really want to talk to him at school, either, anyway. It was an unspoken mutual pact. 

How fast the school day went depended on who was asked. Tommy would say it went by  _ too fucking slow _ . Wilbur would say it went by pretty fast. Techno would say both because he had a bad perception of time, and it ultimately depended on what period he was in. 

Overall, though, they all found school pretty boring except for the one or two classes each of them enjoyed.

For Techno, it was English. English was his strongest subject. He enjoyed it a lot, and he even wanted to become a writer as a career. He was really good at it, too. He was in the AP English class and consistently got good grades. He would say that it wasn’t a big deal, but he was secretly really proud of it. The praise he got from his teacher was some of his biggest motivation for continuing with writing. He was also pretty interested in history class, too. 

For Wilbur, it was geography and government. He was in love with geography and anything related to countries and traveling and even something as little as flags. It was a special interest. He was good at assigning flags to countries, and he even thought a flag could tell a lot about one. He dreamed of traveling the world and learning about different cultures and studying different languages. The way governments worked and influenced countries interested him, too, so he was pretty interested in history as well. He and Techno liked to talk about history together, especially since they were in the same class. Before Tommy joined their family, they would ramble at dinner about different historical events, and Phil liked to listen as best as he could even if he didn't understand much. 

For Tommy, it was science, specifically chemistry, and even math. Numbers fascinated him for reasons even he didn’t understand, and the reasoning and logic of science were also incredibly interesting to him. The way science and math explained how and why things  _ are _ was cool to him. It all made sense to him, too. He didn’t express his interest to people much, but his teachers would tend to see it when he actually participated in class and did really well on tests and classwork. He’d probably have nearly perfect grades in those two classes if he actually did his homework. 

\-----

Tommy laid upside down on the edge of his bed. He was  _ so bored. _ He could’ve done his homework or cleaned his room, but he had to be excruciatingly, painfully bored to bring himself to do those. Maybe he’d call Tubbo and bother the boy who actually did his homework. Maybe he’d go get a snack.

He got up with a groan and walked out of his bedroom. In the hallway, he glanced into Wilbur’s room through the slightly opened door. He was out like a light.  _ Good. Now he can’t yell at me for no reason, _ thought Tommy.

He traveled downstairs and immediately smelled something sweet. It definitely came from the kitchen. Techno was probably baking again. As much as Tommy disliked him, he baked really well.

He walked into the kitchen to see Techno leaned against the counter scrolling through his phone. Whatever he was baking was in the oven, and the smell encased the room. It was honestly kind of comforting.

“You’re not getting any,” Techno told Tommy. He didn’t look up from his phone as he spoke monotonously.

“What?”

Techno looked at him. “You don’t get any. I know you’re gonna ask.”

“I wasn’t, actually, and why not?”

“Because it’s almost dinner.”

“So? Who cares?”

“Because I said so, Tommy.”

“You’re a dickhead.”

Techno laughed. “You ever think that maybe there’s a reason for that, Tommy?”

Tommy didn’t have an answer. He was just pissed off. Techno looked back down at his phone in annoyance.

He figured he and Techno were finally on good terms, but that was very much not the case. Techno was still an asshole towards him for whatever reason. Tommy wondered why he stayed in a house where he was this hated.

The oven timer went off. It continued to beep as Techno opened the oven and took out the pan.  _ Brownies _ . Tommy loved brownies…

“What are you making?” Wilbur said with a yawn as he entered the kitchen. He had been taking a nap. He was drained.

“Brownies,” replied Techno with a small smile.

“They smell good.”

“Thanks. They need to cool down, but you can have one if you want.”

“You’re such an asshole, Techno,” Tommy grumbled. It didn’t matter how much Tommy got pissed or upset. His feelings were always disregarded. He was the problem child temporarily living with them, so who cares about him? He was a burden. 

It wasn’t even the brownies. He didn’t give a shit about the brownies. He just didn’t understand why he had to constantly defend himself.

“What’s up with him?” Wilbur asked as Tommy stormed up the stairs.

“He’s Tommy,” said Techno.

“I guess.”

Tommy didn’t come downstairs for dinner. Instead, he had laid in his bed with the light off. He occasionally checked his phone when Tubbo texted him. Phil assumed he was sleeping, so he didn’t bug him. 

“Where’s Tommy?” questioned Wilbur.

“Asleep. Must’ve been a long day for you guys, huh?” Phil replied.

“Felt like school lasted forever.” Wilbur took a bite of his food. “Can I drop out?”

Phil laughed sarcastically. “Good one.”

“I’m serious.”

That got a sigh. “Say I let you drop out. What’s your plan after?”

“Musician,” Wilbur replied with no hesitation at all.  _ Stupid question _ . “And before you say some bullshit about how that won’t make a lot of money or I need a backup plan blah blah blah, I will become a traveling musician and make a lot of money, I’ll make music for tons of different things and people and for myself, and I’ll travel the world with it.”

“Big dreams,” Phil said. 

“I think he could pull it off, as crazy and maybe even stupid as it sounds,” Techno said. 

“Maybe, but you’re still not dropping out, Wilbur.”

Wilbur groaned. “But it’s dumb and quite frankly useless. I don’t learn unless I’m interested in it. Geography and history and  _ maybe _ English are the only classes that interest me, but the history teacher kinda sucks. It’s boring.”   
  


“Can you just drop it, Will? Please? You’re not dropping out of school.”  _ Was it those dumb ass friends of his putting these thoughts in his head? _

Wilbur tended to have ambitious and sometimes quite stupid goals. Sometimes they were risky, and even though Phil had a feeling that maybe he could pull a few of them off, he didn’t need Wilbur to take those risks. 

Not when he was a 16-year-old high school student. Not when he had come this far in life.

Plus, Tommy didn’t need a new bad influence in his life, even if Wilbur means well. He was close to making impulsive decisions as it is.

“I’m going to take some dinner up to Tommy now. Maybe he’ll wake up soon.” Phil got up from his seat, his chair pushing out with a slight scrape against the wooden floors. He remembered when he used to do this for Tommy during his first month or so. Tommy didn’t enjoy coming out of his room much and only did so when he had to. 

The boy wasn’t much of a napper, so this felt a little weird to Phil especially after that morning, but he tried not to overthink it too much. He did worry about Tommy, though. He was constantly fought with. He was constantly defending himself. Phil wasn’t entirely sure what to do sometimes.

Hopefully, everything would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did a full 180. crazy.
> 
> @/bedrockb0ys on twitter. hope u enjoyed.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading. my twitter is @bedrockb0ys.


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